Man indicted after 18-year-old’s body found in burn pit outside Apache Junction
APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (AZFamily) — A suspect has been indicted for allegedly dismembering, stabbing and burning a teen’s body before hiding it in a desert area outside Apache Junction last year.
On Thursday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced that 37-year-old Anthonie Ruinard Jr. was indicted by a Maricopa County grand jury for the death of 18-year-old Parker League.
On June 12, 2023, League’s body was bound in a debris burn pile in an area called “The Pit” within Tonto National Forest. The county attorney’s office says League’s body had been “dismembered, stabbed, and burned beyond recognition.” The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office had to positively identify League through dental records.
Arizona’s Family previously reported that League was visiting Arizona from Nebraska and that a family member reported him missing when he didn’t fly back to Nebraska. Court documents later revealed that League and Ruinard left a Phoenix club together before stopping at a Chandler Arco parking lot, which is the last time League was seen alive.
Ruinard allegedly tried to use League’s credit cards after his death. Court records state Ruinard admitted to using cocaine and marijuana before meeting up with League, which “may have blurred his memory.”
In October 2023, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office submitted a case on Ruinard Jr. to the MCAO for review.
“Experienced homicide prosecutors in my office combed through nearly 4,000 pages of material submitted in this homicide case. After five months of careful review, we were able to secure this indictment,” Mitchell said in a statement. “This is the next step in bringing justice to Parker League and his family.”
Ruinard Jr.’s trial date is set for July 2024.
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